Judge sends man to prison for road-rage beating death

A South Side Columbus man has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years for a road-rage death from 2011.

William D. Armstrong, 33, was sentenced Monday morning by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Holbrook. The sentence was mandatory for the murder charge.

Armstrong, of W. Whittier Street, pleaded guilty in February to the fatal beating of 68-year-old Wilmon Damron.

Armstrong was a passenger in a car that was clipped in traffic by a car driven by Damron at S. High Street and Greenlawn Avenue on the South Side. The incident occurred shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 5, 2011.

Prosecutors said that Damron stepped out of his car to apologize for causing the fender-bender and was attacked by Armstrong. Damron suffered fractures of the face and ribs, a damaged spleen and a crushed windpipe. The injuries contributed to a stroke, and he died three days later.

A state trooper happened to be driving toward the intersection at the time of the incident, and his cruiser’s camera captured video of the assault.

Armstrong admitted that he had been drinking that night, but police did not conduct a blood-alcohol test on him because he had not been driving.